Denise C. Decoste, Ed. D., OTR 2 Decoste Writing Protocol Decoste WRITING Protocol Evidence-Based Research to Make Instructional and Accommodation Decisions

REVISED DeCoste Protocol Denise C. DeCoste, Ed. D., OTR 2 DeCoste Writing Protocol DeCoste WRITING Protocol Evidence-Based Research to Make Instructional And Accommodation Decisions Edited by: Ruth Ziolkowski, OTR, MBA and Mary Krenz Published by: Don Johnston Incorporated 26799 W. Commerce Drive Volo, IL 60073 800.999.4660 USA Canada 800.889.5242 Technical Support donjohnston.com © 2014 Don Johnston Incorporated You have purchased this eBook under a seven year license. You have either purchased a single copy or a district license as indicated on your Don Johnston Invoice. If you purchased a single copy, make one copy for yourself and a backup copy. If you purchased a district license, you may reproduce it and share it with staff employed by your district only. PDF Edition October 2014 International Standard Book Number ISBN 978-1-4105-1186-7 Citation: DeCoste, D. (2014). The DeCoste Writing Protocol:Evidence-Based Research to Make Instructional And Accommodation Decisions. Volo, IL: Don Johnston, Inc. DeCoste Writing Protocol 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 8 SECTION ONE 16 WRITING DEVELOPMENT 38 Early Childhood Writing 39 WRITING IN THE PRIMARY GRADES 47 Writing Genres in the Primary Grades 48 WRITING IN THE INTERMEDIATE YEARS 52 WRITING AT SECONDARY GRADE LEVELS 58 SPELLING DEVELOPMENT 71 ASSESSING SPELLING 81 HANDWRITING 99 Dysgraphia 102 Handwriting Research 103 Handwriting and Students with Disabilities 124 KEYBOARDING 129 Keyboarding and High Stakes Assessments 139 SECTION TWO 146 THE MAIN STEPS FOR DEVELOPING A DECOSTE WRITING PROTOCOL 149 Administering the DeCoste Writing Protocol 152 WHO SHOULD ADMINISTER THE DECOSTE WRITING PROTOCOL? 158 RATIONALE AND DESCRIPTION OF THE DECOSTE WRITING PROTOCOL TASKS 165 4 DeCoste Writing Protocol OPTIONAL CONDITIONS 180 EVALUATOR INSTRUCTIONS FOR ADMINISTERING THE DECOSTE WRITING PROTOCOL 181 SCORING THE DECOSTE WRITING PROTOCOL 193 SECTION THREE 214 INTRODUCTION 214 HANDWRITING INSTRUCTION/INTERVENTION 218 KEYBOARDING INSTRUCTION/INTERVENTION 229 SPELLING INSTRUCTION 238 STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT COMPOSITION 263 ELEMENTARY INSTRUCTIONAL BEST PRACTICES 268 SECONDARY INSTRUCTIONAL BEST PRACTICES 271 RESEARCH ON INSTRUCTIONAL WRITING PRACTICES FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES 274 INSTRUCTIONAL WRITING STRATEGIES 279 STRATEGIES FOR BEGINNING WRITERS 281 STRATEGIES FOR ELEMENTARY WRITERS 288 STRATEGIES FOR MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL WRITERS 301 STRATEGIES FOR WRITERS WITH DISABILITIES 317 TECHNOLOGY-BASED STRATEGIES AND ACCOMMODATIONS 331 ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGIES 337 Summary of Current Evidence 356 CONCLUSIONS ON COMPREHENSIVE WRITING INSTRUCTION 367 REFERENCES 369 APPENDIX 394 DeCoste Writing Protocol 5 FORWARD After many hours reviewing the literature, I am pleased to present an expanded version of the Written Productivity Profile. Today, writing is no longer taking a back seat to reading and, nationally, high standards for writing have been set. Children write earlier and more often than in previous decades. Technology developments afford new pathways for written expression. The advent of computer-based, high-stakes testing and the need to substantiate accommodations make it even more important to document the best method of transcription. Given all of these factors, the time was right to release a revised and expanded version of the original WPP. It is my hope that the expanded section on the literature will answer the types of questions that arise regarding handwriting and keyboarding, and that the sections on spelling and composition will help those who may need more background information on writing development. Also, in the new Writing Protocol is a section on evidence- based strategies. This new Writing Protocol is not simply a how-to manual, but a short course on writing for educators, therapists and diagnosticians working with students who struggle to be productive and effective writers I want to thank Don Johnston, Inc., and particularly Ruth Ziolkowski, for always taking the high road when it comes to products that support students with disabilities. I especially want to thank Dr. Jan Wasowicz, CEO of Learning By Design, for her contribution to the section of the Writing Protocol entitled, What Do Spelling Errors Tell Us? I appreciate Cindy Cavanaugh for sharing thoughts- from-the-field on identifying students appropriate for the Writing Protocol. I want to take this opportunity to thank Trish Janus, Beth Poss, my former HIAT colleagues from Montgomery County Public Schools (Linda Wilson, Eithne Ellis, William McGrath, Cindy Walsh and Kathleen Hamm), and my Maryland 6 DeCoste Writing Protocol Assistive Technology Network (MATN) friends for their many years of support. And lastly, I want to express my appreciation to my husband, Sam Gutter, for 37 years of love, encouragement, and morning coffee. DeCoste Writing Protocol 7 INTRODUCTION The DeCoste Writing Protocol is a formative assessment tool to identify factors that affect an individual student’s ability to produce writing. It does not purport to allow examiners to make normative comparisons across students. The Writing Protocol is not meant as a replacement for standardized handwriting, spelling or writing tests, which allow a test administrator to compare students against normed data. Rather, the strength of the DeCoste Writing Protocol lies in the ability to compare a child’s individual performance across handwriting and keyboarding tasks, and to examine spelling performance and writing skills in order to make more informed decisions about instructional strategies and the appropriate use of technology to meet classroom demands. When a student is referred for assistive technology (AT) services to assist with writing goals, the most common concern is that the student is not able to produce written work commensurate with his or her abilities. The first step in the process of offering support is to gather information that will shed light on the nature of the problem. Often there is little quantitative data or concrete evidence that helps identify the issues that are affecting written productivity. Consequently, additional assessment may be necessary to help delineate the critical variables affecting the student’s writing abilities. For example, many students referred have a history of handwriting problems. Assessment may demonstrate that handwriting is legible to the student and others, and that productivity rates are acceptable when spelling is factored out. However when spelling is required, the student’s written productivity rate may decrease significantly. This suggests that the student is spending an undue amount of time encoding, which may significantly slow his or her written productivity. 8 DeCoste Writing Protocol If the reason for referral, poor handwriting, was accepted at face value, then simply providing a word processor as an accommodation would be ineffective, unless there are accompanying strategies to address the spelling issues. Likewise, a student’s keyboarding may be commensurate with handwriting speeds, but this will not be enough if the student has insufficient mastery of the writing process and has yet to achieve proficiency on the appropriate writing standards. At other times, the student may truly be struggling with the motor aspects of handwriting or keyboarding, which must be addressed in order to achieve writing automaticity. Writing is a complex, multidimensional skill. According to Moats (2005-2006, p.12), “Even more than reading, writing is a mental juggling act that depends on automatic deployment of basic skills such as handwriting, spelling, grammar, and punctuation, so that the writer can keep track of such concerns as topic, organization, word choice, and audience needs.” The DeCoste Writing Protocol is a protocol to capture the various factors that affect writing so that AT strategies can be applied appropriately. It is a formative assessment to help develop a profile of a student’s writing skills in order to inform the AT planning process. Furthermore, this edition provides the research base to better understand writing development and the basis for instructional strategies. To achieve these goals, the DeCoste Writing Protocol provides information to help answer the following questions: • Is the student struggling with fluent handwriting? • Is keyboarding automaticity sufficiently fluent to serve as an alternative to handwriting? DeCoste Writing Protocol 9 • What mode of transcription does the student prefer? • Is spelling affecting writing fluency? • Is the student demonstrating appropriate grade-level writing skills? • What instructional strategies should be considered based on the DeCoste Writing Protocol results? WHY REVISE THE DECOSTE WRITING PROTOCOL? The original WPP was first published in 2004, and there are multiple reasons for revising it now. Much has changed in the last decade, inside and outside the classroom, on a national policy and school-based level, fueled by advances in technology and insights from new research. There is evidence that students are writing more on a daily basis in classrooms (Graham, Berninger, Weintraub, & Schafer, 1998; Graham & Harris, 1994). With the advent of computer tablets, children are using computers at an earlier age. New national directives of College and Career standards emphasize the importance of daily writing across different “types” of writing (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010). New research findings summarized in this publication provide important background information

Load more